The present invention relates to a method of adhering a cover glass and a cover glass adhering device, more precisely relates to a method of adhering a cover glass, by which a cover glass is adhered onto a microscope specimen with a mounting medium, which are mounted on a slide glass, and a cover glass adhering device for executing said method.
A microscope specimen, e.g., a tissue slice of an affected part of a patient, is made by the steps of: slicing a tissue of the affected part; mounting the tissue slice on to a slide glass; removing fat from the tissue slice; dyeing the tissue slice; and adhering a cover glass, which covers over the tissue slice, onto the slide glass with mounting medium.
When the cover glass is adhered onto the slide glass, it is important to perfectly remove air bubbles, which obstruct observation through a microscope, from a space between the cover glass and the slide glass. Further, it is important for the observation to prevent the tissue slice from being damaged.
A conventional method of removing air bubbles is disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication Gazette No. 3-40367. FIG. 6 is a front view showing the method. A sliced specimen 1 in mounted on a slide glass 3. A mounting medium 2 is dropped onto the slide glass 3. The slide glass 3 is mounted on a table 4. A sucking pad 6 is provided to a holder 5, which can be moved in the vertical direction. The sucking pad 6 is moved downward, together with the holder 5, so as to hold a cover glass located at another place (not shown in FIG. 6). The sucking pad 6 holds one end of the cover glass 7 (a left end of the cover glass 7 shown in FIG. 6). The other end of the cover glass 7 (a right end of the cover glass 7 shown in FIG. 6) is downwardly biased by a pusher 9, which is downwardly biased by a spring 8, so as to obliquely hold the cover glass 7. The length of downward projection of the pusher 9 is adjusted by nuts 10, which are screwed with au upper part of the pusher 9 projected from an upper face of the holder 5.
Then the holder 5 is moved to a position above the slide glass 3, and the holder 5 is downwardly moved toward the slide glass 3. Firstly, the other end (the right end) of the cover glass 7 contacts an upper face of an end part of the slide glass 3, then an inner face of the cover glass 7 gradually contacts the slide glass 3 toward the one end (the left end). With this action, the mounting medium 2 is extended toward a left end of the slide glass 3 (see a state shown in FIG. 6).
After the cover glass 7, which is held by the sucking pad 6, is piled on and pushed onto the slide glass 3, the sucking pad 6 releases the cover glass 7 and the holder 5 is upwardly moved together with the sucking pad 6.
With this action, the slide glass 3, on which the microscope specimen 1 covered with the cover glass 7 is mounted, is left on the table 4.
Air existed in a space between the slide glass 3 and the cover glass 7 is pushed by the mounting medium 2 leftward when the cover glass 7 is gradually piled on and pushed onto the slide glass 3, so that the air is forced out from the space between the slide glass 3 and the cover glass 7 and no air bubbles are left therein.
When the cover glass 7 is piled on the slide glass 3, the left end of the cover glass 7, which is held by the sucking pad 6, is vertically moved downward. So, the right end of the cover glass 7, which has been obliquely held, is changed the posture horizontally. With this action, the right end of the cover glass 7 is slid a distance xcex94a (see FIG. 6). Namely, a part xe2x80x9caxe2x80x9d (see FIG. 6) is moved from a oblique posture to a horizontal posture, so that the right end of the cover glass 7 is sidewardly slid against the pushing force of the pusher 9. An inner (lower) face of the right end of the cover glass 7 is slid on the upper face of the slide glass 3.
If the right end of the cover glass 7 is located on the specimen 1 when the right end of the cover glass 7 is slid on the slide glass 3, the specimen 1 will be damaged. If the damaged part of the specimen 1 is located under the cover glass 7, the damaged part obstructs the microscope observation.
To clearly observe the specimen 1 by the microscope, air must be perfectly removed from the space between the cover glass 7 and the slide glass 3. Further, the damaged part of the specimen 1, which has been damaged when the cover glass 7 is piled onto the slide glass 7, must not be located in a visual field of the microscope.
The present invention has been invented so as to solve an above described problem of the conventional method of adhering the cover glass.
An object of the present invention is to provide a method of adhering a cover glass, which is capable of perfectly removing air from a space between the cover glass and a slide glass and locating a damaged part of a specimen outside of a visual field of a microscope.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a cover glass adhering device which executes the method of the present invention.
The method of adhering a cover glass onto a specimen with a mounting medium, which are mounted on a slide glass, in a device including:
a horizontal shaft; an arm capable of rotating about the horizontal shaft and moving in the vertical direction; and
a sucking pad being provided to the arm, the sucking pad being capable of sucking one end of the cover glass, which is located on the further side with respect to a rotational axis of the arm,
comprises the steps of:
sucking the one end of the cover glass with the sucking pad;
obliquely holding the cover glass, above the slide glass, in a state in which the sucked one end of the cover glass is located on the upper side with respect to the other end thereof;
adjusting a position of the rotational axis of the arm so as to locate the same under the slide glass; and
rotating the arm so as to make the other end of the cover glass contact the slide glass and curve the cover glass, and gradually moving the one end of the curved cover glass toward the slide glass,
whereby air existed between the cover glass and the slide glass is forced out and the cover glass is adhered onto the slide glass.
In the method, an angle between a virtual line, which connects a center of the sucking pad and the rotational axis of the arm, and the cover glass may be an acute angle.
In the method, the one end of the curved cover glass may be gradually moved toward the slide glass with gradually reducing rotational speed of the arm. By gradually reducing the rotational speed of the arm, the mounting medium between the cover glass and the slide glass can be extended at fixed speed.
In the method, the rotational speed of the arm may be adjusted on the basis of properties of the mounting medium. By adjusting the rotational speed on the basis of the properties of the mounting medium, the air in the space between the cover glass and the slide glass can be perfectly removed.
The cover glass adhering device, comprises:
a table onto which a slide glass is mounted;
a supporting pillar being vertically provided to the table;
a supporting cylinder being provided to the supporting pillar, the supporting cylinder being capable of moving in the vertical direction, the supporting cylinder having a horizontal shaft;
means for moving the supporting cylinder in the vertical direction;
an arm being rotatably supported by the supporting cylinder, a base end of the arm being rotatably connected to the horizontal shaft of the supporting cylinder;
a sucking pad being provided to a front end of the arm;
means for rotating the arm; and
means for controlling the moving means and the rotating means so as to suck one end of the cover glass, which is located on the further side with respect to a rotational axis of the arm, with the sucking pad; to obliquely hold the cover glass, above the slide glass, in a state in which the sucked one end of the cover glass is located on the upper side with respect to the other end thereof; to move the supporting cylinder downward until the horizontal axis reaches a position under the slide glass; and to rotate the arm to put the cover glass onto an upper face of the cover glass.
In the device, the controlling means may gradually reduce the rotational speed of the arm, and may further comprise means for gradually reducing the rotational speed of the arm when the one end of the cover glass is moved toward the slide glass.
In the present invention, the one end of the cover glass is sucked by the sucking pad; the cover glass is obliquely held above the slide glass and held in the state in which the sucked one end is located on the upper side with respect to the other end thereof; the cover glass is downwardly moved toward the slide glass in said state; and the arm is rotated to pile the cover glass onto the slide glass. With this action, the cover glass is curved and gradually piled onto the slide glass from the other end thereof. Thus, the air existed between the cover glass, and the air is forced out from the opened one end side. The air can be perfectly removed.
When the arm is rotated, the one end of the cover glass is sucked by the sucking pad and the position of the rotational axis of the arm is located under the slide glass, so that the the damaged part of the specimen, which has been firstly made contact with the other end of the cover glass, is moved toward the one end of the cover glass. By moving the damaged part, the damaged part can be located near an edge of the cover glass, so that the damaged part can be removed from the visual field of the microscope.
Further, by adjusting the rotational speed of the arm on the basis of properties of the mounting medium so as to extend the mounting medium at fixed speed, forming air bubbles and overflowing the specimen from the cover glass can be securely prevented. Therefore, the microscope observation can be executed properly.